Clamp



' Sept. 20, 1949. w. RUSCHMEYER CLAMP Filed June 25, I948 Inventor fizrmafz WRuscfimeZ/er By W I Atlomey Patented Sept. 20, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel construction of clamp particularly adapted to sifters used in flour mills for separating the shorts, middling and bran and associated with each of which are two spouts which are connected to the outlets of the sifters by a flexible, usually a fabric sleeve known as a soc. These fabric sleeves are of necessity made of a pliable material to form a flexible connection between the outlets of the sifters and the spouts due to the constant vibration to which the parts are subjected when the machine is in operation. As a result, the pliable sleeves require replacements approximately once a week and considerable time is ordinarily lost in accomplishing this operation due to the fact that it is conventional to tie the ends of these sleeves over the sifter outlets and over adjacent ends of the spouts by a'wire which is wrapped therearound and the ends of which are twisted.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an adjustable clamp having means for yieldably clamping the ends of the pliable sleeve over the outlet of the sifter or over an end of a spout and which will afford the yieldable gripping engagement which will readily withstand the vibration of the machine without permitting disengagement of the coupled parts and which is capable of being readily adjusted to accommodate such coupled joints of different diameters and to insure an adequate clamping engagement.

A further object of the invention is to provide a clamp of extremely simple construction capable of being quickly and easily adjusted to vary the diameter thereof and/or the spring tension exerted thereby.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a clamp which can be quickly and easily applied or removed to thereby accomplish a material labor saving in the replacement of the pliable sleeves.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing a portion of a sifter outlet end of a pliable sleeve coupled by the clamp;

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional View taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 2--2 of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 33 of Figure 2.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, for the purpose of illustrating a preferred application and use of the novel clamp comprising the invention and designated generally 5, the numeral 6 designates the outlet end of a discharge conduit of a sifter and the numeral 1 designates one end of a pliable sleeve, formed of a suitable fabric such as linen or canvas, commercially known as a soc, which is employed for form-.

ing a flexible conduit connection between the sifter outlet 6 and an adjacent end of a spout, not shown, and it will be readily apparent as the description proceeds that the opposite end of the sleeve 1 would be connected to an end of the spout in the same manner that the illustrated end of said sleeve is secured in coupled relationship to the outlet 6 by the clamp 5.

The clamp 5 includes an arcuate strand of relatively heavy gauge wire 8 which is shaped in the form of a split ring, oneend of which is provided with a flat and relatively wide outwardly -projecting ear 9 which is disposed substantially in the plane of the wire 8. The opposite end of the strand 8, which is disposed adjacent the ear 9 is flattened and widened radially to form an enlarged terminal portion!!! which is like, wise disposed substantially in the plane of the strand 8.

The enlargement I0 is provided with an opening II to receive the depending shank I2 of an eye member l3 which is disposed above said enlargement Ill. The shank I2 is rotatably disposed in the opening H and is provided with enlargements M which engage opposite sides of the enlargement H] to provide a swivel mounting for the eye member l3 on said enlargement [0.

A relatively wide bar I5 is provided with an opening adjacent one end thereof which is adapted to register with an opening in the ear 9 for receiving the shank of a nut and bolt fastening l6 which extends through the bar l5 and ear 9 for swingably supporting said aforementioned end of the bar [5 on the ear 9. The opposite end of the bar I5, which forms a lever, is twisted at right angles to its first mentioned end to provide a handle ll adapted to be manually engaged for swinging the lever I5 on the ear 9 and relatively to the strand 8. An eye member I8 is provided with a depending shank I9 corresponding to the shank or stem I2 and which is similarly connected to the lever l5, adjacent its pivoted end, for swivelly mounting the eye member I8 on said lever.

An elongated bolt 20 extends initially through the eye member l3 and thence through the eye member l8 and is provided with a nut 2| on its shank end which bears against the eye member I8. The bolt 20 is provided with a head 22 at its opposite end forming a stop for one end of an expansion coil spring 23 which is supported on the bolt 20 between the head 22 and the eye member I3 and which as will be readily apparent acts to yieldably draw the eye members 13 and I8 toward one another.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the clamp 5 in clamping engagement with the parts '6 and and it will be readily apparent that the spring 23 in yieldably urging the ends 9 and ll] of the clamping strand 8 toward one another will yieldably hold the coupled parts securely together and that, this resilient tension may be varied by advancing or retracting the nut 2| relatively tort-he bolt shank. To release the clamp 5, the handle I! of the lever I5 is manually engaged and swung in a counter-clockwise direction as indicated by the arrow in Figure 2 to cause a portion of the shank of the bolt 20 to be swung from inwardly of the .lever pivot l6 outwardly over and across the axis of said pivot and to a released position and by continuing this swinging movement of the lever through an arc in excess of 180, it, Will be readily apparent that the clamp 5 will be loosened so that it will completely disengage parts '6 and 1 to permit the fabric conduit section I to be readily removed and replaced. The swivel mounting of the eyes l3 and [8 permit this swinging movement of the lever l5. Conversely, to apply the clamp .55 the handle end I! of the lever I5 will be disposed adjacent the enlargement Ill and will be swung from this position in the opposite direction to the arrow of Figure 2 or clockwise back to its position of Figures l and 2 and in so moving a portion of the bolt will pass across the axis of the fastening l6 so that the spring 23 will then yieldably urge the lever [5 in a clockwise direction as seen in Figure 2 or toward a locked position so that the vibration of the machine will not produce an unlocking of the lever and a release of the clamp.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to,

at one end thereof and an outwardly projecting ear at its opposite end, an eye member swivelly supported on said enlargement, a lever pivotally connected at one end thereof to said ear for swinging movement in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of said strand, an eye member swivelly supported on said lever in spaced relationship to its pivot, a headed bolt having a shank extending through said eye members and slidably disposed therein, an expansion spring carried by the bolt shank and disposed thereon between its head and one of said eye members, and a stop mounted on the bolt shank and engaging the remote side of the other eye member whereby said spring will yieldably urge the eye members toward one another, said lever being swingable on its pivot for moving the bolt shank across the axis of the lever pivot for releasing 'or locking said lever, said lever when in a locked position being disposed for positioning the "bolt shank between said strand and the lever pivot and with said eye members in a remote position with respect to one another whereby said spring will yieldably urge the eye members and the ends of the strand toward one another.

2. .A clamp as in claim 1, said stop comprising a nut adjustably mounted on a threaded portion of the bolt shank for varying the tension of said spring and for varying the diameter of the arcuate strand.

HERMAN W. RUSCHMEY ER.

No references cited. 

